Beer Review 0228: Sixpoint Righteous Ale

Founded in 2004, Sixpoint was the brainchild of college classmates Shane Welch and Andrew Bronstein. Shane was the homebrewer of the pair, and Andrew could get the cash needed to start up the brewery in Brooklyn, New York. The brewery only kegged beer and filled growlers until June 2011, when they began distributing a core year-round line, of which this beer, Righteous Ale, is part of.

Righteous Ale is a rye beer, brewed with rye malt to 6.3% ABV (alcohol by volume) and 57 IBUs (International Bitterness Units). Like all of the Sixpoint offerings, Righteous Ale is delivered in a can.

The pour made a large and creamy head that became more soapy and frothy as it sat, and it did last for a good while. This beer was a deep amber in color, almost brown, but when held to the light, presented red highlights and took more of a general amber hue. No particles or sediment was present, and the body was clear. As expected, Righteous Ale created some righteous lacing thanks to the rye malt.

The aromas presented a disappointing picture; yes, there’s rye up front and in charge, giving off a breadiness and slight spice. And the malts continue in the form of some sweet caramel, very much like a Brown Ale would smell. There are some light hops, with notes of citrus (orange) and flowers. Overall, quite forgettable in this department and subdued.

Tasting gave sharp rye up front, coupled with a creamy and sweetened caramel. There’s a touch of citrus hop, along with the flowers found in the aroma. The finish comes on with a light bitterness that gives another shot of rye, and it lingers long into more of a caramel/sweet blast with an underlying rye spiciness and general bitterness. The mouthfeel was fairly thin, a bit too thin for my liking, but the beer was creamy with a soft carbonation.

Righteous Ale is very drinkable but somewhat lacking in flavor. I feel the problem with this beer is they went too heavy on the malt bill, particularly with the sweet malts. Perhaps if the citrus hops were upped, there would be a nicer contrast of flavors here, and would make something more memorable. There’s better rye beer out there to be had.